Fewer Namibians satisfied with democracy - Afrobarometer

Afrobarometer surveys shows that Namibians&#039; satisfaction with democracy has decreased by 12 percentage points compared to ten years ago.Namibians&#039; disapproval of a military government has also decreased by 13 percentage points. Between 2011–13, an average of 64% of Namibians indicated that they preferred democracy, but for the period 2021-23, only 55% shared the same sentiment.During the same period, Namibians&#039; satisfaction with democracy dropped from 62% to 50%, and their disapproval of a military government dropped from 77% to 64%.Declining supportWhile Africans still believe that democracy is the best form of government, support for democracy has declined, Afrobarometer’s recently released inaugural flagship &#039;African Insights 2024&#039; report shows."While support for democracy is highly susceptible to economic, social and political actions, it is resilient against economic factors such as poverty and poor economic management," the report states.Among the report&#039;s key findings, it was found that "on average across 39 countries, support for democracy remains robust: Two-thirds (66%) of Africans say they prefer democracy to any other system of government, and large majorities reject one-man rule (80%), one-party rule (78%), and military rule (66%). But across 30 countries surveyed consistently over the past decade, support for democracy has declined by seven percentage points."Afrobarometer attributes the fluctuating support for democracy to political factors such as increasing corruption in local governments, poor-quality elections and a lack of presidential accountability.“Deepening citizen dissatisfaction with how democracy is performing is strongly associated with perceived declines in both socioeconomic and political performance. But support for democracy as a system of government is more resilient to economic and social deficiencies. Where we see declines in support for democracy, they are most closely linked to adverse changes in political performance, such as declining election quality, increasing levels of corruption, and failure to promote the rule of law.”The report also noted that “remarkably, for a continent with huge gaps in government services, a clear – and growing – majority say it is more important for a government to be accountable to the people than to ‘get things done’.”The report says other trends “portend danger for the continent’s democratic development. Opposition to military rule has weakened: More than half of Africans express a willingness to tolerate military intervention when elected leaders abuse power for their own ends, even though two-thirds reject institutionalised military rule."While the youth in Africa differ little from the older population on the issue of a military government, they show a greater willingness to tolerate military intervention, the report notes.Inaugural reportThe report distils findings from Afrobarometer data spanning more than a decade, including the latest round of nationally representative surveys in 39 African countries, based on 53 444 face-to-face interviews.In Namibia, the Afrobarometer survey is conducted among sample groups of 1 200 people over the age of 18, representing the demographics of a country. The sample group is provided by the Namibia Statistics Agency.– irene-mari@nmh-hub.com.na

Fewer Namibians satisfied with democracy - Afrobarometer

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-03

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Fewer Namibians satisfied with democracy - Afrobarometer

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-03

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